Ethics for the New Millennium

In a difficult, uncertain time, it takes a person of great courage, such as the Dalai Lama, to give us hope. Regardless of the violence and cynicism we see on television and read about in the news, there is an argument to be made for basic human goodness. The number of people who spend their lives engaged in violence and dishonesty is tiny compared to the vast majority who would wish others only well. According to the Dalai Lama, our survival has depended and will continue to depend on our basic goodness. Ethics for the New Millennium presents a moral system based on universal rather than religious principles. Its ultimate goal is happiness for every individual, irrespective of religious beliefs. Though the Dalai Lama is himself a practicing Buddhist, his apporach to life and the moral compass that guides him can lead each and every one of us — Muslim, Christian, Jew, Buddhist, or atheist — to a happier, more fulfilling life.

Only during a time when we have so little faith in one another, so little confidence in the willingness of others to do what is right, can a strong voice emerge to dispel disillusionment and show us hope. It takes a person of great courage, such as the Dalai Lama, to face these times and say there is hope.

There is an argument to be made for basic human goodness. The number of people who spend their lives being violent or dishonest is tiny compared with the number of people-the vast majority we don't hear about-who would wish others only well. According to the Dalai Lama, our survival has depended and will depend on our basic goodness. "Much more effective and important than legislation is our regard for one another's feelings at a simple human level Here, I refer to the capacity we all have to empathize with one another to arrive at the inability to bear the sight of another's suffering." The Dalai Lama presents an ethical system that not only is based on common sense and reason, as opposed to religious dogma or punitive legislation, but has as its goal ultimate happiness for every individual.

The Dalai lama demonstrates that human beings are better than we think we are, and that a society and a life that cultivate love and compassion are completely within out reach. If enough people operate from the understanding of their "original purity," a global revolution of peace will ensue.

Publishers Weekly

"This is not a religious book," asserts the Dalai Lama about a volume that's his most outspoken to date on moral and social issues. "My aim has been to appeal for an approach to ethics based on universal rather than religious principles." The Dalai Lama adopts this approach because, he notes, the majority of humanity ignores religion, the traditional vehicle for ethics, yet observation shows him that happiness, which he discerns as the prime human goal, depends upon "positive ethical conduct." The entire book, written in simple, direct prose, reflects this sort of step-by-step reasoning, taking on color and drama with numerous anecdotes drawn from the Tibetan leader's personal experience. Methodically, the Dalai Lama explores the foundation of ethics, how ethics affects the individual and the role of ethics in society. He resorts often to Buddhist principles (as in employing the idea of dependent origination--that nothing arises or exists of itself--to demonstrate the interrelatedness of all life), but also to native Tibetan ideas and, occasionally, to secular thought or that of other religions. The book represents no radical departure from his previous work, but it does present a number of forceful views on issues ranging from cloning to vivisection to excess wealth ("the life of luxury... is unworthy"), as well as personal flavor not seen in his books since his autobiography, Freedom in Exile. The Dalai Lama refers, for instance, to his unwillingness to sell his watch collection for money to feed the poor as an example of ethical limitation. With its disarmingly frank, kindly manner and authoritative air, the book is what one would expect from a Nobel Peace Prize winner, and could appeal as widely as the Dalai Lama's current bestseller, The Art of Happiness. (Aug.) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

Don't miss His Holiness the Dalai Lama's classic book, The Art of Happiness, or his newest, The Book of Joy, named one of Oprah's Favorite Things. In a difficult, uncertain time, it takes a person of great courage, such as the Dalai Lama, to give us hope. Regardless of the violence and cynicism we see on television and read about in the news, there is an argument to be made for basic human goodness. The number of people who spend their lives engaged in violence and dishonesty is tiny compared to the vast majority who would wish others only well. According to the Dalai Lama, our survival has depended and will continue to depend on our basic goodness. Ethics for the New Millennium presents a moral system based on universal rather than religious principles. Its ultimate goal is happiness for every individual, irrespective of religious beliefs. Though he himself a practicing Buddhist, the Dalai Lama's teachings and the moral compass that guides him can lead each and every one of us—Muslim, Christian, Jew, Buddhist, or atheist—to a happier, more fulfilling life. In a difficult, uncertain time, it takes a person of great courage, such as the Dalai Lama, to give us hope. Regardless of the violence and cynicism we see on television and read about in the news, there is an argument to be made for basic human goodness. The number of people who spend their lives engaged in violence and dishonesty is tiny compared to the vast majority who would wish others only well. According to the Dalai Lama, our survival has depended and will continue to depend on our basic goodness. Ethics for the New Millennium presents a moral system based on universal rather than religious principles. Its ultimate goal is happiness for every individual, irrespective of religious beliefs. Though he himself a practicing Buddhist, the Dalai Lama's teachings and the moral compass that guides him can lead each and every one of us{u2014}Muslim, Christian, Jew, Buddhist, or atheist{u2014}to a happier, more fulfilling life I. The foundation of ethics 1. Modern society and the quest for human happiness 2. No magic, no mystery 3. Dependent origination and the nature of reality 4. Redefining the goal 5. The supreme emotion II. Ethics and the individual 6. The ethic of restraint 7. The ethic of virtue 8. The ethic of compassion 9. Ethics and suffering 10. The need for discernment 11. Universal responsibility 12. Levels of commitment 13. Ethics in society 14. Peace and disarmament 15. The role of religion in modern society 16. An appeal. "The Dalai Lama presents an ethical system that not only is based on common sense and reason, as opposed to religious dogma or punitive legislation, but has as its goal ultimate happiness for every individual. He demonstrates that we human beings are better than we think we are, and that a society and a life that cultivate love and compassion are completely within our reach." --Book Jacket The Dalai Lama, spiritual and temporal leader of the Tibetan people, presents an ethical system he believes could result in happiness for every individual, arguing that human beings are better than they think, and that a society and a life that cultivates love and compassion are obtainable